My question is, in Genesis 17, God promises Abraham many things
1) the father of many nations--kings would come from Abraham v.4-7
2) the land of Canaan v.8
3) an everlasting sign in the rite of circumcision 9-14
4) a son, Isaac, from whom all Abraham's offspring would be blessed v.19
5) a blessing given to Ishmael--he would become a great king and multiply greatly and father many princes v. 20
6) But, God says, the covenant would be established w/ Isaac.
Now, Abraham immediately circumcised Ishmael all his servants (including foreigners) as well as himself.
My question is, if Isaac was to be the one with whom God established his covenant, why did God also command Abraham to circumcise everyone, including Ishmael and the servants of Abraham's household (v. 9-14)?
Pointer: All three aspects of Abraham's covenant are called "everlasting": 1)that Abraham would be the father of many nations; 2) the rite of circumcision; 3) the covenant with Isaac.
It seems to me that the covenant with Abraham should be understood monolithically as one covenant given the "everlasting" language used to describe the different aspects of the covenant.
And then there's Paul's interpretation taking the plural of "seed" and making it singular. but let's just focus on the aforementioned topic and not get
1) the father of many nations--kings would come from Abraham v.4-7
2) the land of Canaan v.8
3) an everlasting sign in the rite of circumcision 9-14
4) a son, Isaac, from whom all Abraham's offspring would be blessed v.19
5) a blessing given to Ishmael--he would become a great king and multiply greatly and father many princes v. 20
6) But, God says, the covenant would be established w/ Isaac.
Now, Abraham immediately circumcised Ishmael all his servants (including foreigners) as well as himself.
My question is, if Isaac was to be the one with whom God established his covenant, why did God also command Abraham to circumcise everyone, including Ishmael and the servants of Abraham's household (v. 9-14)?
Pointer: All three aspects of Abraham's covenant are called "everlasting": 1)that Abraham would be the father of many nations; 2) the rite of circumcision; 3) the covenant with Isaac.
It seems to me that the covenant with Abraham should be understood monolithically as one covenant given the "everlasting" language used to describe the different aspects of the covenant.
And then there's Paul's interpretation taking the plural of "seed" and making it singular. but let's just focus on the aforementioned topic and not get